Being able to prepare for the future is critical for any company that wants to remain in business. How do we know though what to expect?
Well, the first thing that a business owner wants to know is whether the short-term and long-term prospects of the business are good. All of us have an opinion about where things will go in the future. But are we correct in our prediction?
We used crowd-sourcing techniques and analytics to answer that question.
Last year GeoWorld introduced the “Geotechnical Business Confidence Index” (GBCI) which is intended to measure quarterly the short-term (1 year) and long-term (5-year) expectations for business conditions in companies throughout the world. We have then repeated that survey quarterly. Hundreds of GeoWorld members responded from the entire world for each quarter. We then anonymously analyzed the data and processed it spatially to make an assessment of the short-term and long-term confidence in geotechnical business globally.
Here’s what we found:
Geotechnical engineers overwhelmingly believe business in the next 5 years will be significantly better than business in the next year. The figure below illustrates that. Each point represents the average Geotechnical Business Confidence Index (GBCI) for each country and for each quarter. If the points fall on top of the 1:1 line, then the 5-yr prediction is as positive as the 1-yr prediction. As you can see for the majority of the countries, the majority of points are above the line, i.e., geotechnical engineers believe, business conditions will be much better in 5 years than in 1 year.
Which brings us back to the original question? Are geotechs eternal optimists? It looks like it for sure. But we will be able to tell you definitively in 5 years, so stay tuned!
See more about the Geotechnical Business Confidence Index here.
Are you not a member of GeoWorld yet? If not and you want to be part of the confidence index effort register now and join the professional network for geotechnical engineers and associated fields.
Are you already a member? Do not forget to login and participate in the in the Q1 2018 Geotechnical Business Confidence Index 30-second survey!